Stone Shield

So incredibly excited to finally share pictures of this new finish I'm calling "Stone Shield". After many sneak peeks of the layers and layers of paint & wax, this piece has truly taken on quite the transformation, and is now ready to be donated to Restore Decor for this weekends Annual Fundraiser! Hope to see y'all there!!! For those wondering about the finish specifics, I'll add a quick breakdown here, but know a FULL Step-By-Step Tutorial is coming to my YouTube Channel for this very, very soon... But for now, I started with Wise Owl Grey primer to establish the best base for this stone-like finish. Then Wise Owl Smokey Quartz, to Carbon and back to Smokey Quartz again. Then Hemp Oil Natural Furniture Wax for protection and of course that beautiful Black Wax to deepen the recessed areas further and heighten the contrasted look of aged stone. And as I love to do, I added some bling along all the raised areas including the hardware and some of the flat areas to give a lil sheen for that metal look a shield would have. Short and sweet for now, but know all the details on how are coming soon... So if you haven't already please check out my YouTube Channel, Subscribe and be sure to hit the Notifications bell, so you'll be notified when the first of many new instructional videos is loaded.

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ADDITIONAL GREY FINISHES

Carbon Castle

Ohhhhh SNAP!!! Here it is y'all!!! After lots and lots of peeks, here's the final pictures of this incredible transformation. I couldn't be more excited to share it, as the vision I had in my head has been completely brought to life in this piece. It doesn't always work out that way, but as a creative, it's an amazing feeling when it does!!! This piece was layers upon layers of paint, texture, varnish and glaze to get to this final finish, but knowing where it's going tomorrow all the time and effort put into it was so worth it. This new finish I'm calling "Carbon Castle" is an all Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint project, with an assist from my ClingOn brushes, Saltwash and Re-Design with Prima. All the sponsors from my 10,000 Followers Giveaway. So this piece is a big ole shout out to them and thanks for being apart of that milestone. But for those who've asked... how did I get to this "Carbon Castle" finish??? Well first, I started with some primer... as you'll see in the "Before" picture included in the album, the piece was older and the top was a unique fake marble type look. So to ensure there's no bleed through from the wood parts and great adhesion on the top I painted the entire piece in two coats of Wise Owl White Primer. I even painted underneath the side panels and the hinges to ensure continuity of the finish all throughout. Next came the fun!!! CARBON! Wise Owl's new color I couldn't wait to try and knew I'd need just the right piece for. This piece was it for me and glad I waited. But since the top already had this textured fake marble like feel to it, I decided to add Saltwash to the initial layer of Carbon to add texture throughout the piece to compliment the top better. As you'll see, Saltwash isn't just to distress through and show what's below, you can also create some amazing brush stroked and textured spots which have really popped out during the process of this finish. So after one layer of Saltwash and Carbon, I painted another coat of Carbon by itself to get complete coverage all over. Then came the top... What to do there??? I knew i wanted something special and thankfully Cari from Re-Design sent me the most amazing stencil that worked perfectly with the finish. It is their Diamond Grunge Decor Stencil. I taped it down and using a Sea Sponge I used an additive stippling technique to dab on Wise Owl Snow Owl white. I used the Sea Sponge because I wanted it to look rough, not perfect so to compliment this rough styled finish. After I had the stenciling done across the top I took it off and stippled a lil more gently to fill in the spots some where the stenciled covered. not too much to take away from the stencil, but enough to make it a lil more grungy ;) Next came a wash of Smokey Quartz. I added the wash to lay down in all that amazing texture I'd created and some a sort of stone look y'all know I like. Then to add a lil something extra to the wash, I used my mister to spray in spots and getting some dripping effects here and there. Next, I continued that layering of Carbon by doing a dry brush of the Carbon all over, which brought back that dark dark grey color, but only in the select spots that had raised edges. Then I decided to top coat the whole thing with Wise Owl Varnish in Satin. I LOVE the sheen the Satin gave and really draws out all the details from the texture. But wait... that's not all folks :P After taking a step back I knew the top needed just a lil something extra. So using that same Sea Sponge I did another additive stipple of Wise Owl Opalescent Pearl Glaze. I did this very gently, just to add a lil shimmer but not overtake the finish. Then of course I finished it all off with a couple more layers of the Satin Varnish. Oh... and the hardware... Those weren't easy either... They had two layers of paint that needed to be removed before I could add my BLING! So they got Citristripped, then cleaned, then using Rub & Buff Pewter and Black, I gave them this uniquely aged silver look. And I think truly capped off this piece with a lil signature bling from me ;) So that's that y'all... WHEW! Hoping y'all love it as much as I do, it was certainly a labor of love, so I hoped I would love it :P Again, thanks to my sponsors and hoping y'all are happy with the use of your products as a BIG OLE thank you!!!

If you're interested in trying Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint & Products or Cling On Brushes, be sure to go to their website at;

I decided on my "Stone Castle" finish for these pieces, hoping to really draw out the details. This finish is layers of Dixie Belle Paint Company Slick Stick, Sea Spray, Paints, Gator Hide and Waxes.

I started with Slick Stick, as you may have seen from the sneak peeks, due to the high gloss tops and plastic like areas on the drawers. Believe it or not, those amazingly carved areas throughout the drawers are all some kind of hard plastic built into the solid wood frame. So to ensure long lasting adhesion I went with a base coat of Slick Stick all over. Then I decided to add some texture to my "Stone Castle" finish to add another layer of depth. I love how this ended up, and I'm really loving that Sea Spray right now!!! I went with Manatee Grey & Sea Spray combo and added it in spots here and there. Next came the main color all over, which for this finish is Hurricane Grey. I painted it on, doing me best to show brush strokes all over. Normally you'd want to avoid brush strokes, but for a stone-like finish I'm looking for, I want lines that will show through in the next step. And of course the next step is dry brushing of another layer of Manatee Grey. This brings out the brush strokes from below AND now with the Sea Spray added, brings out all that glorious texture to really add to the effect. Then for protecting and the amazing matte finish, I went with Clear Wax all over. The top of the dresser did get Gator Hide instead, to ensure maximum durability. And what truly makes this finish, I ended with Black Wax. As y'all know, Black Wax is a favorite of mine and for this finish just makes it what it is! Especially with those textured areas, this really has taken on a stone like look. Then when I was finishing it up, I kinda knew I'd add some Sterling Silver Gilding Wax to the knobs, but taking a step back I thought, why not add more... So not only did the knobs get some Sterling Silver, but the raised edges of those amazing carved areas did as well. Then I didn't stop there... I decided the carved edging needed some as well along with a few edges here and there. To me it really tied in that silver look from the knobs and blended that bling!!! Who says stone can be fancy.

And as promised, I've created a Blog that is a more in-depth look behind the scenes of how I got there following those steps above, with some additional pictures, including the "Before"!!!